


One Act

by Clockwork



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: AU, Alternative World, Gen, Magic, Period Piece, Rewrite, Victorian, victorian au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 10:40:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16554233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clockwork/pseuds/Clockwork
Summary: Henley Reeves refuses to let magic be an all boys club, and is willing to shock and titillate to get the attention she deserves.





	One Act

**Author's Note:**

  * For [knightings](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=knightings).



It was a stunt nearly three months in the making physically but one that Henley Reeves has been working on for nearly two years. Ever since she had first seen another parlor magician perform and then been told that magic, like so much else, isn’t suitable for a lady. 

The moment she heard those words from that damned preening peacock J Daniel Atlas, she had known she would learn to do just that. He might be cute, and a fun bit of entertainment for a month or two, but after that he had told her again she had no place in magic and that had been the end of that.

Now, in the streets Chicago by the waterfront, Henley is prepared to show the world that not only can women do magic, but they can do the sort that men never tried. Physical and dangerous, taking chances that the likes of Atlas, or spiritualists like McKinney, would never try. 

She had to work quickly, having arranged for the hole to be drilled in the middle of the cobblestones long before she was ready. She would only have a bit of time before the police arrived but if she’s properly prepared then all she would need is a moment. Well several moments, but by then she would be in the middle of things and she doubts they would stop her then. Not with the risks of it. Not for a lady. If they were going to play such games, then Henley was not above taking advantage of them. 

So midmorning, when all of the business types were scurrying about working on fixing money and finances, and the familial and servants were busy with their errands, Henley set to work. All she needed was two assistants, the pre-drilled hole, and a rig she had designed herself.

Oh, and an outfit she herself had sewn by candlelight until her fingers were numb and bruised. An outfit hidden beneath a long coat that she held closed tight by one hand as two men suddenly rushed down the street with a loooooooong tube with a small platform attached to one end. 

It bent and twisted as they lifted it, fitting the end into the hole and letting it sink. It dropped a lot, but still the pole reached up towards the sky, up to the height of several floors of the buildings that surrounded it. 

Already people stopped and watched, curious as Henley stepped forward in sparkly kitten heel shoes and a long, midnight black coat.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! I ask that you watch your children, and be prepared to cover their eyes,” she announced, smiling widely with her strawberry blonde hair piled atop her head and her skin barely touched with a metallic shine. “Because this show is not for all ages.”

Even as she made that announcement, Henley let her coat fall with a dramatic flare. All around her she could hear gasping and shrieks as the single piece garment was revealed. Skin tight and covering much less than a swimsuit would, coming to mid thigh with a ruffled pantaloon look and corseted at the top. Everything was covered in beads, the garment weight a considerable amount. Enough so she had practiced wearing it, just to ensure she could perform this trick AND not fall to her death because glass beads weigh so much.

After months of practice though, she was ready. Even if the city of Chicago wasn’t.

Before anyone could try and grab her, to stop her from enacting the stunt, she started to climb. Shimmying up the pole with little hesitation, using the rubber on the side of her shoes and adhered to her hands to help her grip the pole and make it all the way up to the platform at the top.

Already the noise of the people had faded away, drowned out by factories and distance, until all she could hear was the wind rushing past her head, and the hum of the factories around her. Those below were a soft din except the occasional voice hollering for her to come down right now.

Settling herself to sit atop the platform, Henley prepared herself. Taking a few breaths, letting the people watch and wait as waved to the people below. Some waved. Some waved frantically in a panic. She only waved harder, making the pole sway. Someone screamed. That was all she needed. 

Moving to her feet, Henley shifted her weight, letting the pole slowly bend to one side. The gasp from below was like a sigh. Slowly raising her arms for balance, she shifted her weight to the other foot, hip jutting out slightly and letting the pole slowly slide to the other side, dipping further than it had before. Repeating the gestures, slowly letting the pole bend from one side to the other, taking her further than she should go, almost as if she should just slide from the tiny platform. 

Now the sounds of the crowd were louder, reaching her clearly as they screamed and yelled and applauded her efforts. Stopping her movements, letting the pole recenter straight, she waved to the crowd before taking a step backwards off the platform and letting gravity take its course.

She fell, backwards, almost as if in slow motion. Below her people screamed, some fainted. One man crumpled, even as several rushed forward as if they could catch her without doing harm to themselves.

Yet Henley didn’t fall.

Her body dropped, back hitting against the post and making it sway once more, but her foot remained firmly hooked on the platform so that she swung as if caught on a breeze.

The roar of the crowd echoed around her, loud enough she could feel it shimmy along the pole. While they cheered, she grabbed the pole, twisting and climbing to get back up on the platform. Standing straight and tall, she raised her hands, waving at the crowd.

“Thank you,” she called, not even sure if they could hear her over their own yells and applause. “Thank you all.”

And then with a smile and a wave, she leapt up and off the platform. Rising in the air, her body twisting and turning so that the sunlight caught off the beads on her dress as she plummeted to the ground, arms outstretched and her descent welcomed.

Screams rose up around her, shouts for help, and then she landed with a thump in a cart of hay. Bits of straw rose up around her, the sides stacked to hide her from view. People rocked the cart, trying to climb the sides.

Henley laughed as she rose, dressed in an elegant black gown that fell to her ankles and gloves that went from her fingertips to past her elbows where the open back swoop of the gown did not cover her arms. The two men that had rolled the wagon into place while all others were busy looking above offered her a hand and lifted her easily from the wagon, setting her to sit on the rail, prim and proper and speckled with hay.

“Thank you! Thank you all. The name’s Henley Reeves and…” She looked up, hearing whistles. “And that’s our show for today. Goodbye.”

Falling back into the wagon against the hay, the men climbed to the seat and cracked the reins sharply against the horses back. Suddenly they were careening down cobblestone streets, taking corners on two wheels and leaving the crowd and the cops behind.

Moving to sit up until they were out of the city, she noticed something laying in the hay. An antique playing card, it appeared to be, but when she turned it over she realized it was a tarot. The high priestess. 

Her heart leapt into her throat. One show. One performance. That was all it had taken and the Eye found her.


End file.
